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assimilate

[ verb uh-sim-uh-leyt; noun uh-sim-uh-lit, -leyt ]
/ verb əˈsɪm əˌleɪt; noun əˈsɪm ə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /
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See synonyms for: assimilate / assimilated / assimilating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), as·sim·i·lat·ed, as·sim·i·lat·ing.
verb (used without object), as·sim·i·lat·ed, as·sim·i·lat·ing.
noun
something that is assimilated.
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Origin of assimilate

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin assimilātus “likened to, made like” (past participle of assimilāre ), equivalent to as- as- + simil- (see similar) + -ātus -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM assimilate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use assimilate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for assimilate

assimilate
/ (əˈsɪmɪˌleɪt) /

verb
(tr) to learn (information, a procedure, etc) and understand it thoroughly
(tr) to absorb (food) and incorporate it into the body tissues
(intr) to become absorbed, incorporated, or learned and understood
(usually foll by into or with) to bring or come into harmony; adjust or become adjustedthe new immigrants assimilated easily
(usually foll by to or with) to become or cause to become similar
(usually foll by to) phonetics to change (a consonant) or (of a consonant) to be changed into another under the influence of one adjacent to it(n) often assimilates to ŋ before (k), as in ``include''

Derived forms of assimilate

Word Origin for assimilate

C15: from Latin assimilāre to make one thing like another, from similis like, similar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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